Guilford Co. parents frustrated by winter weather school closings

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Winter weather has disrupted class schedules in the Piedmont again. While kids aren’t complaining about the changes, it is becoming a headache for parents.

“It gets to be an inconvenience, especially when you drop your kids off at 8:30 in the morning, then have to pick them up at 12,” said Stewart Harper.

Harper isn’t the only Guilford County parent who has had to rearrange their schedule due to school closures.

“The children, they’ve just been out an excessive number of days this year,” said Jackie McCoy. “We had a vacation set up at the end of summer, but now they’ve tacked on two or three school days, so now we’re having to change our plans for our summer vacation.”

What makes the situation even more frustrating is winter isn’t over, so all school officials can do is plan for the worst to keep everyone safe.

“We don’t want a situation like Atlanta where it could be much worse, so I would prepare to be on the safe side,” said Leigh Morrison.

Deanna L. Gardner

Safety should be the concern not the inconvenience. I would much rather have to rearrange a schedule than arrange a funeral. It’s aggravating for teachers as well. We are parents as well who have to arrange transportation when schools close early.

news2me

Seriously? I opted on the side of caution since the timeline was so close that I kept mine home anyway! He’s WSFCS but my child’s (and all the children’s) safety is far more important than her vacation. These snow days are built in to the calendar so she she have considered this when planning the vacation in the first place!

Lynn

Meg

How about you parents (and my self included as a parent of 3 in Guilford County Schools…) NOT plan your vacation so close to when school ends… certainly this is not your first tournament, really? You should schedule your vacation a couple of weeks after school ends anyway!!!! Just saying…

The parents “frustrated” by school closings would be far more upset if schools didn’t close and their children got hurt in an accident because of the weather. We haven’t had much snow in recent years so this is not a concern every year. Get over it.

“The children, they’ve just been out an excessive number of days this year,” said Jackie McCoy. “We had a vacation set up at the end of summer, but now they’ve tacked on two or three school days, so now we’re having to change our plans for our summer vacation.”

Dear Jackie, If you planned your vacation at the end of summer which is near the beginning of Fall then a few day at the end of the school year should not hinder your plans one bit.

I don’t mean to be flippant. It just seems very selfish on the part of the complaining parents. I personally love the snow and I think about how beautiful the yards and flowers will be in the spring because of the nitrogen snow adds to the soil.

Tenacious EJ

I think the thing that bothers me is that Guilford County has so many work days built in already, in addition to early release. When school started back after the Christmas break they were off for MLK Day, obviously, but then also off Thursday and Friday that same week. And recently, even though there have been numerous days that were half-days due to weather, they still had a scheduled early release. Why? And 3hour days like today are a joke, especially as they still had lunch despite such a shortened day. The whole day was a waste. Certainly the weather got bad and letting school out early was the right choice, but GCS needs to cut out all those work days and early release days. They are one of the worst in the nation in this area.

Agree! The teacher workdays/early release should be the first to go. I’d rather keep the kids safe for sure, so i understand many of the early release and delays going on – ice and snow are ‘no joke’ for sure – but it’s ridiculous to avoid touching work days at this point. I also think parents who are ready to take off on vacation the day after school closes need to get a clue and at least wait a week before scheduling vacations when at all possible.

Will Grant

God gives us what we are suppose to have. The snow and ice and low temps are good to balance nature. It puts the water back where it needs to be. People in the county do not want wells going dry. My only complaint is receiving a call at 5am, why not call it off by 11pm. Just maybe there was going to be problems for your family –drunk driver — and this make up day just saved your lives by delaying/changing you plans–one never knows –but I believe God does. Bless you and have a wonderful snow day.

Steve

Teacher workdays are the only days that they have to complete required paperwork and complete report cards and progress reports. Why should they have to work extra time at home just to make the whiney parents happy?

Cyndi Price

When you decide to have children and if you work-you should have back-up for this situation and any other problem that may present itself. Disturbing your vacation……I am laughing. Guilford County get your act together so people will not have to change their vacation plans….NOT ! I think the county does a great job, obviously because they put their students first. Ignore the parents that are having a temper tantrum because they may have to change their plans…..the majority supports how you handle the weather conditions.

news2me

I CANNOT believe that parents are actually whining because the school system erred on the side of caution and keeping the children safe!!! Apparently, they have quickly forgotten that a young lady died in Winston some years back and the WSFCS got walloped for deciding to open schools that day. This just shows that you can’t win with some people and some people are VERY selfish and shallow! Think about your children and put them first. And no one controls weather, so find something to whine about that you have some control over. This whole article makes me sick!

Moses

Tim

How about not closing daycares when school is out though! Pretty much makes single parents take excessive time off of work and some do not get paid when they are out of work! I feel for the parents who lose money when the daycare they count on for these days are closed as well and of course the daycares do not refund money for days missed due to closures so your getting a double hit in the pocketbook!

R D

This article does not fairly represent ALL parents of school age children in Guilford County, NC. These few who felt the need to complain about the inconvenience should have really thought about what they were saying. Most parents are glad that the school system makes educated decisions regarding the safety of students on school buses within the city and especially in the county where rural roads can be very unsafe when the city streets are clear. Providing for your children FIRST are what responsible parents do, not complain about losing a day on their job or the money they lose because the day care closes too. I am personally offended by these parents comments putting their job and money first before the safety of their children.